. >> reporter: mr. romney's touring includes stops first in the heavily republican panhandle. then in a democratic leaning county trying to slice into the president's lead before closing the day near tampa, a battleground within this swing state. meanwhile not wanting to risk appearing to put politics before public safety. >> i was looking forward to being in virginia tomorrow, but you know the hurricane is headed up there. i just spoke with governor mcdonald. the governor and i talked about that. he said, you know, the first responders really need to focus on preparation for the storms. >> reporter: the romney campaign said it rescheduled sunday stops in virginia where hurricane sandy is taking aim. >> as ohio goes, so goes america. >> reporter: the republican nominee will join paul ryan tomorrow on the second day of his bus tour through ohio. >> you know it's you. you know what you have in front of you. you know the responsibility. >> reporter: trying to look like it's in the driver's seat the romney campaign launched a fundraising effort to compete in two states the preside